Appliance for playing table foot-ball.



N0.-'786,206. PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905. M. GILLETT.

APPLIANCE FOB. PLAYING TABLE FOOT BALL. APPLICATION FILED APE.18, 1904'.

wttorneya Patented March 29, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

MAY GILLETT, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPLIANCE FOR PLAYING TABLE FOOT-BALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,206, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed April 18, 1904. $erial No. 203,793.

To (tZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAY GTLLETT, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at London, England, (whose post-oflice address is 29 Ashley road, Crouch Hill, London, England,) have invented an Appliance for Playing Table Foot-Ball, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new or improved (lei/[ices or appliances for playing table footba Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the appliance or device according to this invention, hereinafter called the striker 0r pusher. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4 an edge view, of a suitable foot-ball or device, which may be of wood, to be employed as the football for use in playing foot-ball with the aforesaid appliance illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

a designates a handle to be grasped by the hand of the player.

6 is a very flexible connection, formed, for example, from a length of piano-wire, which is attached to said handle at one end and to the striker c at the other end.

0 is the striker or pusher or means by which the foot-ball is to be kicked or pushed, such striker or pusher cbeing formed as shown in Fig. 22'. 0., somewhat of the shape of a sector of a circle, with flat side faces converging toward the handle and rounded on the outer end and more or less flat on the top and bottom-the special form and construction of this head or pusher 0 being a very important and essential feature of my present invention. The special shape or form of the pusher, as illustrated in the drawings, and the special point of attachment of the flexible wire thereto are important for the following reasons: The rearwardly-converging side lines of the pusher terminating in a pointed rear end prevents such rear end or rear part from being used to hook the ball or otherwise operate on the same to draw or knock it backward2'. 0.,

toward the player operating the appliance- Whereas with a pusher of any other form rearwardlyfor instance, with a round or square pusher-the player can use the rear or back part of said pusher to hook, strike, draw, or otherwise operate the same to move the ball backward, and as it is desired that each player should only have the power to propel the ball forwardc'. 0., away from the playerthe special formation of this appliance with the rearwardly-converging sides is a point of the highest importance. In regard to the forward end2'. 0., the operative endof the pusher this is specially formed as a convex surface of or about the curve shown in the drawings to prevent the player having too much control over the foot-ball even with said operative end, and thus render it more diflicult for the player to keep control of the ball, thereby not only calling forth skill and steadiness on the part of the player, but prolonging the game, as naturally it will take considerable time and a number of strokes for the player to get the ball into the not even in the limited space of a dining-table or the like surface on which this game is designed to be played. Further, in order to prevent the flexible wire connecting the pusher to the handle being used to strike or operate on the foot-ball the said flexible Wire is at taehed to the pusher at such a height from the bottom thereof that at such point of attachment, the pusher being made suflticiently high for the purpose, the same will pass over the top of the foot-ball d 0., will clear the balland thus prevent the wire from being used direct upon the ball.

d is the foot-ball for use with the aforesaid striker, which football is advantageously formed of wood of the biconvex shape shown in the drawingsi. 0., round in plan and rounded top and bottom.

The essential feature of the invention is, however, the special form of-the striker 0, mounted on a flexible connection Z) and operated by the handle a of any suitable shape.

Having now described my invention, what 10 tor-shaped head having a substantially flat bottom With an upwardly-slanting rear portion, and a flexible-Wire handle attached to the apex thereof, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two Witnesses.

MAY GILLETT.

Witnesses:

H. D. JAMEsoN, F. L. RAND. 

